Open Your Eyes
by Glamagirl
Summary: CM Punk and Beth Phoenix are friends, but what happens when the nature of their friendship and their feelings for one another start to change?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone here, sadly. But as rumor has it the characters here belong to each other… awww!

A/N: This is a request story for Kyara, she gave me a premise and here it is the outcome. Now, I like this pairing but I can't figure out how to write them, it didn't help that I wrote it half asleep so I hope it turned out alright. Anyway, I got inspired by Punk's tweets and LV so let's see how it goes, hope you all like it :)

_**Open Your Eyes**_

The man known to the WWE universe as CM Punk was walking through the backstage corridors of the arena with a huge smile on his face. It was an actual smile that looked rare on him but that softened his features and made him look a few years younger.

Those who saw him walk by, smiling and holding in reverence a compacted box that seemed to have all his attention wondered what was with him, after all to see him smile like that was something one wouldn't see every day… so they watched, wondered and then shrugged, going on with their life as Punk went on with his.

The truth was that CM Punk smiling wasn't a common sight to see and that's why they wondered; yeah, it was true that sometimes he would walk around flashing his patented half grin but that one spoke of smugness more than it spoke of happiness. Of course, that didn't mean that the Chicago native wasn't happy, in reality he was pretty content with the way his life was and the way it was heading, the detail was that he never cared to show it.

It was just the way he was; those who knew him understood it and those who didn't labeled him as a too cocky, too brusque smartass that thought too much of himself, thing that of course, Punk didn't care one bit. Quite the contrary, he seemed to enjoy collaborating on that image by acting all the above, especially when he had a crowd.

But that night was too special to act crabby, in fact it was so special that he wasn't even minding the few people who were stealing furtive looks his way and he just limited himself to walking around, his feet carrying him to the place he wanted to be, catering, where all the great minds liked to reunite before the show started; or at least where he and those he called friends liked to reunite.

But anyway, as soon as he entered the room, his olive green eyes scanned the place around, looking for one of the three persons he could share his joy with. It didn't take long to see at least two of them and with the smile still on his face he walked to where they were sitting.

"You are not going to believe what I have here." He said, dragging a chair from the nearest table and placing it besides the fairest and without a doubt nicest of his closest friends, Beth. Once the chair was in place he sat down, put the box set over the table and lifted an eyebrow in Kofi's direction. Kofi on his part didn't even look at the newcomer and went on with stabbing his phone with his fingers, thing that made Punk scowl. "Hello, Kofi!"

"Don't bother, he's playing Angry Birds and," She turned the page of her magazine and looked up at him, a soft smile displaying on her face. "You know how he gets when he's playing anything."

Punk shrugged and turned towards Beth. "Well fuck him, guess what I have here." He said, the smile back on his face as her baby blue eyes met his green ones.

"Do you have to curse so much?" Beth asked while putting her attention back to her magazine. "You have that word in overuse and well, it's tasteless to go around saying bad words, Phil."

Rolling his eyes, Punk snorted. "It's not tasteless; I'm just manifesting my freedom of speech here. Besides, there isn't such a thing as bad words, just bad intentions and you know I would never use anything with bad intentions." He ended his sentence with another snort, watching as Beth pursed her lips at his sarcastic statement. "Okay screw that, if I had a shirt that said 'fuck you' I wouldn't need to say it as much, I'll just stand in front of people and let them read on." He smirked, considering the possibilities while wriggling his eyebrows.

"I wouldn't let you." She said, looking back at him and sending him a wink.

Punk chuckled, knowing that if there was someone who could make him do or don't do something without recurring to violence was Beth. She was like the Ghandi of his friends and sometimes he wondered how the fuck did they ended up being friends.

It was one of those mysteries of life that actually made sense because they had a lot of things in common, but also, at the same time they were complete opposites. She was like a ray of light on a bright day while he was the gloomy cloud in an overcast weather. Day and night, Yin and Yang… it was a balance and even when some people had a hard time believing it their friendship worked perfectly with them being just the way they were.

They were two workaholics who loved wrestling, comics and rock music, and even if she didn't label herself as Straight Edge she lived the lifestyle, making them the two most different people on the planet that also happened to have a lot of things in common.

"Well, I know you would try to stop me but I would put resistance before giving up; but anyways, are you going to guess or not?" He asked, grabbing and then opening a bottle of water that was resting over the table so he could take a sip. "Trust me on this one; this has nothing on the Holy Grail."

With that said and gulping half the water, the Chicago native watched through half closed eyes as his friend's attention moved to the object he brought with him.

She looked at it for awhile and then lifted her face to his. "Don't make me guess, what is it?"

"All the episodes of G.I. Joe on DVD and they are all mine! With this and the fabulous wonders of room service I won't leave my hotel room ever."

Beth laughed, her fingers brushing her hair behind her ear. "And I believe you. Now I won't be seeing you for days and when you decide to join society once again you won't even remember us the poor people."

"Yeah right," He snorted. "Actually I was thinking that you could come and watch with me, today is our cheat meal so we can hang; you know, order a pizza or two. Just the usual" He shrugged.

They had taken the habit that on every Wednesday night they would have a cheat meal night accompanied with a marathon of movies, him, Beth and sometimes Kofi and Curt. It was an excuse to get lazy and relax and even when it was followed by what they called the Thursday of regrets, a day where they would execute a killer workout at the gym to burn all the carbohydrates they ate the previous night, all of them keep the routine alive.

"I can't do our cheat meal today," She said, her tone low and her eyes moving to the magazine once again. "I kind of have a date."

"Oh okay…" Punk said. "Another ladies night?" He knew that every once in a while Beth liked to go out with some of the other Divas to do whatever women fancied to do when together.

He didn't mind, since the beginning of that year they had been spending a big part of their traveling time together and as she once told him, hanging with him and a bunch of other guys was a bit too much for her frame of mind and she needed time away from the testosterone. Sure, this was the first time she turned down a cheat meal-movie night in favor of those ladies bonding moments but it wasn't such a big deal.

There were a lot of Wednesday to be had and next one he was going to pick the movie.

"Not really." She responded without looking at him, almost as if she was too shy to look at him.

"Not really?" He frowned. "What do you mean not really?" With his eyes half closed he looked at her, it couldn't be like a date-date, with a guy, now could it?

"Cody asked her out, tell him Beth." That was Kofi, at some point during the conversation he lost all interest in his game.

Punk choked with the water he was drinking and almost spilled the liquid all out, thankfully for those near him he managed to swallow it down so he could laugh freely. And he laughed out loud, shaking his head for the good part of a whole minute as he watched Kofi smile widely. "Cody Runnels, aka Cody Rhodes, aka Mr. Dashing?" He said still laughing, but when he turned back to Beth she was looking at him with one eyebrow arched and a serious expression on her face; her magazine was forgotten over the table.

"What's so funny?" She asked and Punk's laughter died.

"Oh boy, this is going to be interesting." Kofi said, placing both his elbows over the table and resting his chin over them so he could watch.

"You are not serious," Punk said, the intensity of his eyes only for Beth. But the look on her face was serious, meaning that she wasn't kidding.

Nah…

"Is it unbelievable for a guy to ask me out?"

"No, no…" Punk hurried to say. "But Beth, the guy is a geek, he's a geek!"

"Yeah and this comes from the guy who is happy beyond reason because he's going to spend the entire night watching cartoons, a donkey can't talk about ears you know?"

Punk opened his mouth and lifted a finger to shake it in her face. "No Beth, this right here is an animated TV series, there's a difference between that and cartoons. Besides even if they were cartoons one thing is to watch and appreciate it and another very different to play with the action figures! Beth that boy designs his ring attire after Zelda and he carries his little G.I. Joes around."

Beth shook her head and looked away.

"He has a lisp!"

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"Okay, that was out of line but come on Beth, you can't be serious about this."

"Why not? For a change I want to be taken out to a nice place and be treated like a lady and not like one of the guys; and Cody is a nice guy so what's wrong with that?"

Chuckling, Punk lifted both his hands in the air and opened his eyes wide. "Everything is wrong with that. Have you lost your mind? Cody? You'll only be treated like his geeky companion and when…"

"Well that's my problem and not yours." She interrupted him, getting up to her feet before storming away without looking back. Punk followed her progress with his eyes until she disappeared, noticing how her usually kind features seemed angry. In his insensibility, he couldn't put his finger on the reason why, after all he was just speaking the truth.

One thing he knew was that the Beth that walked out on him made a fury resembled more the character she played for the crowd and not the Beth he knew her to be.

"What is wrong with that woman, going out with Cody? Come on I can think on a dozen things she can do other than going on a date with Cody, like walk over nails or worse, watch a Cody grooming segment"

"Man… that was…" Kofi bit on his lips and shook his head. "I think you screwed this one man, she's pissed."

"Well let's hope I got some sense into her." He snorted. "Cody Runnels, please…"

"Alright, so the boy is a geek, I'll give you that, but did you really have to make her feel bad about it? I mean how many girls have you dated that Beth didn't like and how many times has she told you so."

"Never, she never had a problem with any of them." The tattooed man replied without thinking. He always thought that as a rule women hated each other, but in Beth's case it wasn't like that. She got along with everybody and as a result his theory was proved to be wrong.

"That's because she's too nice to say anything so come on man, the least you can do for her is play nice to and support her in this one."

Punk shook his head. There was no way he was going to support Beth going out with Cody, never. Only to think about it seemed wrong.

She was too good to be wasted in the likes of Runnels. Besides, he couldn't see her dating, it was just weird.

It was true that when he met her she was married but he never put much thought to it, he was dating someone at the time so it wasn't like he cared about other's marital status. But then he broke up with that someone and started dating another one that happened to be close friends with Beth, that's when he started to bond with blonde Diva known as The Glamazon.

It was an easy friendship because Beth had a way with people and she won him over almost immediately, to an extent that even after he broke up with Beth's friend the two of them remained close. Then she divorced and they moved on to working a hard traveling schedule together, that's when their friendship started to blossom at its fullest, and even when he dated a few times after that his friendship with her never faltered.

She was the only woman he could really rely on and even if it wasn't in any kind of romantic way he wasn't willing to give her away to Cody fucking Runnels.

Call him an ass or egoistical, he didn't care; so shrugging, he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Would you support her if she decided to jump off a cliff? Because I won't."

Kofi tilted his head and blinked. "You know something? If I didn't know any better I would say that you are jealous. Is this because you think Cody is not the guy for her or would it be the same with any of the guys that could date her?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not jealous of Cody, it's just that Beth is my friend and… come on man, you know how it is with these guys and I don't think she should date, anyone, ever."

With a laugh, Kofi shook his head. "Alright, but you tell her that because she seemed determined. When you were not here she was even excited to go out tonight. I can't blame her, she's a woman and women like to go out to nice places and they want a guy to appreciate them and she doesn't have any of that, never." He said, putting emphasis in the last word.

"I take her out all the time," Punk said and shrugged. In fact they were together all the time, didn't that count for something?

"Driving her from arena to arena and making stops to eat doesn't count as taking her out, besides it's not the same because you just said that you are just friends, so even if you take her out it would be invalid. Of course, that's unless you like her as more than friends and wouldn't that be something that having her so close you never took the chance and now she's going out with Cody… that would suck."

"That psychology doesn't work with me smarty pants, I just see her as my friend. Yes she is beautiful and nice and all that stuff but she is… Beth."

"Then let her try this Cody thing, if it doesn't work you'll go back at being just friends with her and if it works you'll be happy because she'll be happy."

Punk shook his head again. He tried to form an image of Beth with Cody, kissing and acting all lovely dovey and the image he came with made him want to punch that stupid man and break his teeth.

Could it be that Kofi was right and he was indeed jealous?

But that couldn't be, to be jealous meant that he wanted Beth to be more than his friend and he didn't want that. Or did he? Frowning he tried to form another picture, this one of him and Beth, kissing. He didn't object the image in his mind; to be honest it only made him curious to know how it would feel to actually do it…

With his eyes glued to her magazine and grabbing his DVD he got to his feet, refusing to acknowledge out loud the thoughts he just had about Beth.

Maybe he did like her, maybe it was just the ass in him wanting to come out or simply the fact that he as the good friend that he was wanted to hold to that friendship forever. Whatever it was, the fact was that he wasn't going to let Cody take her out, not that night not ever.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to those who took their time to review. It means a lot and I appreciate it ;)

_**CHAPTER 2**_

"I can't believe you are making me do this…"

"And I can't believe she really went out whit that nerd; I mean look at them, all dressed up as if this was some kind of fancy event or something." Without taking his eyes away from the duo who sat dinning a few tables away from his undercover spot behind a fish tank, Punk complained bitterly, his upper lip snarling as he spoke. "Cody Fucking Runnels. Please…" He tsked, shaking his head.

"She's going to be so mad if she knows we are here and I'll lay all the blame on you. Hell I'm going to deny everything… or say that you dragged me here against my will."

Punk ignored Kofi and kept staring straight ahead, his lips moving as he hissed under his breath. He has been there for a short while now, stealing furtive glances at his sweet friend Beth and her so called date, watching as they talked and smiled as if all was right in the world.

Well, their merriness was stupid and it made him want to throw up in Cody's face; there was nothing right in the world and definitely nothing right about the image that was burning into his brain as he watched, it was all wrong.

Beth and Cody were wrong, period. The boy was the perfect personification of what a geek was and he had no business 'dating' Beth. Yeah he liked to impress by dressing and looking like a Ken but that was all on the outside, inside he was all geek. As for his female friend he didn't know what to say, he couldn't believe she went on a date with him willingly, and on his movie night none the less!

That was the worst of all, that she dissed him for the lost member of the Spice Girls, Geeky Spice! It was a blow to the gut and he felt like retaliating on Cody's face, using his fist a thousand times.

That would wipe his pretty boy looks.

"What are they talking about anyway? Zelda and comics? Idiot, I bet he will try to pay with monopoly money. Ten bucks that she is already bored out of her mind."

Kofi sighed and ran a hand over his dreadlocks. "I don't know man, she likes comics and this is Beth after all, the woman thinks Star Wars is the greatest romance story ever told so who's to say she is not enjoying herself. Oh, look… she's laughing, you owe me ten bucks!"

Punk squinted his eyes and sent a dirty look towards Kofi; it lasted a second though and then he was back at watching Cody and Beth.

"Besides I don't know why you talk so much since you like comics too, so, you are the last person who should be talking about geeks." Kofi snickered and Punk went back to glaring at him.

"Who's side are you on here, mine or this that duck-looking kid?"

"Oh I'm a hundred percent on Team Beth, sorry man."

"You are a fucking Judas."

"No I'm not. Trust me, if it was a case where Team Punk and Team Cody were competing for the love of beautiful Beth I would be on your team, but because you say this suddenly outburst of jealousy doesn't have anything to do with you liking Beth as more than a friend I have to stick to whatever she wants."

Punk chewed hard on his fruity flavored gum and blinked slowly. "I swear all I heard was blah blah blah but please don't care to repeat it again. P.S. I'm not jealous."

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt man, I mean it's obvious that we are here stalking Beth because you are NOT jealous."

"Gentlemen, can I help you with something?"

Punk tilted his head to the side and saw out of the corner of his eye that there was a waitress guy standing behind him, he was obviously talking to him and Kofi so the Chicago native decided to respond. "No, we are fine."

"Sir, you can't stand here without ordering…"

"Come on, it's not like we are occupying one of your tables, we are just standing here, watching the fish…"

"I'm sorry, its policy of the restaurant."

Puffing, Punk looked the waitress over. "Fine, then bring me a diet Pepsi." Putting his hand into his jeans pocket Punk took out his wallet and started to look for some cash. "Now I'll have to pay for an overpriced soda just because I want to watch the fish! How much is it?"

Kofi cleared his throat, scratching his head with one hand while with the other he covered his profile. "I think we've been spotted."

With Kofi's words getting to him, Punk lifted the wallet to his face and covered up. "You know, I'm not thirsty anymore so we'll just leave."

"Phil?"

Looking from right to left Punk shook his head a few times, looking everywhere but where he knew Beth to be. "Uh? What? who's calling me?"

"Phil," She said, her tone of voice meaning business.

Now that he was caught he had no other choice than to look at her, and when he did he beamed. "Beth! Oh my God what are you doing here? Oh and looking so purty."

Beth didn't seem amused to see him there, that was for sure; she was sitting in her pretty dress while shooting him an icy-cold glance. Did that bother him? Sure, but only because it was the second time she got mad at him that same day and all because of Cody.

But was he going to let it get to him? Hell no! If he came all the way to that restaurant was because he internally knew he needed to ruin her date. So with that in mind he walked to her, grabbed an empty chair from the table at the side and dragged it to where she was. "Did you come to eat too? I heard this was the best restaurant in town. What did you order?"

"We haven't ordered yet, we just got here."

At the sound of that voice, Punk clicked his tongue and leered towards the source. "Hey Cody, nice outfit… it's very, how do you say it? Dashing."

The younger man chuckled and lowered his head, not giving any other kind of response. Ha, team Punk: 1

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Beth asked getting up to her feet. She excused herself with Cody and then walked away, giving Punk no other choice than get up and follow her.

Whatever, she was mad but at least he got her out of the table. Grinning and walking right behind her, his eyes took in her image, noticing how she dressed up for her fiasco of a date; strapless black and white dress, high heels, hair down and straightened out… make up… she was looking really nice and so not worthy of Cody.

She never dressed like that with him. Never.

The dress wasn't too revealing but it hinted at the wonders she hid so well, it embraced her curves without being too tight and yeah, dressed like that his eyes were not objecting on seeing her walk right in front of him… especially with the strut the heels added to her walk. Not that he was checking her out, he was just appreciating.

"What are you doing?" She asked turning around and Punk felt like defending himself for the simple fact that his eyes had been glued to certain rear part of her anatomy.

"Nothing, I swear." He moved his eyes up to her face and lifted his hands.

"So you just casually walked here and right to our table?" She said, crossing her arms up to her chest.

Oh, that… for a moment he thought he has been busted staring.

"Well yeah," He scratched his head and shrugged. "I didn't feel like doing Movie night alone with Kofi so we asked at the hotel for the best restaurant to eat." That was what he was saying, but the truth was that he casually asked the receptionist where Cody wanted a taxi for and he went there. "I didn't know Cody was taking you here, I mean who would have thought it? He strikes me as the kind who would take a date to Chuk E. Cheese, not a restaurant."

Once again she was not amused, it showed in her face.

"It's not like I was following you, I wouldn't do that Beth, you know it… but if you want we'll leave." He shrugged, put his hands inside his pockets and pouted. "We can find another place to eat… I guess,"

The blonde Diva took in a deep breath and Punk knew he almost had here where he wanted; she just needed a little push. So with that in mind he ventured to look into her baby blue eyes before speaking. "Just don't be mad at us, please."

Beth ran her tongue over her lips and let her arms fall to her sides. "I'm so going to regret this, I know I will. Just, don't make fun of Cody okay."

Fuck yes! Up yours Cody! Ha, even on a date with him she didn't mind his company! "I promise, we just want to eat in peace, come here." He extended his arms and pulled her to him. Now, he wasn't a man to give in into public displays of affection but he just felt like giving her a brief hug, and when her body pressed against his and the soft scent of her perfume hit his nose he didn't feel like letting go.

She felt… nice, very nice.

"You are wearing perfume." He mumbled, his hands resting on her back and his face looking down to her hair silky blonde hair.

She looked up to meet her eyes to his and smiled. "Shut up." Then she pulled away and sighed. "Let's just eat and please try not to ruin my night."

Punk smiled, his smile as fake as Cody's tan. "I won't…"

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I Know it took me forever to update this and I'm sorry. Somehow I lost my Beth muse but don't worry, I found her and I'm going to exploit her ;p Hope you enjoy!

**ChApTeR 3**

"This is the worst night. Ever." The man known throughout the entire WWE universe as CM Punk mumbled under his breath as he squeezed into his closed fist the fork he apparently wanted to bend out of shape. "I even feel like throwing up… on his dinner… or better yet, on his face. Do you think I'll be able to do it? I mean throw up on him a la exorcist while sitting here?"

Instead of getting an answer, what Punk received was an elbow to the side from Kofi and he had no other choice but to tear his simmering green eyes away from the duo sitting in front of him so he could send his traitorous friend a dirty glance.

"Why are you hitting me?"

"Shhh, lower your voice or she's going to hear you, man."

"Tsk, I hope so. That way I may break the spell he put her on and I don't know, once she's back to her senses I'm sure she'll walk out on him on her own accord." He mumbled again, watching Beth laughing softly as the love child of Mr. Spock and Barbie whispered something to her ear. "What can he possible be saying that's so funny?"

"What would I know, why don't you ask her? Or not, now that I think on it the less you talk out loud the better for you. Man… I don't even know how you managed to convince her to let us stay here or why she believed you when you told her that we casually walked into this place."

"Because that's what happened and that's what you are going to say if she asks you."

"Easy for you to say it because you are a master at convincing people; for you it might be effortless to do things like this but I'm no expert and I don't know how to lie to Beth; she has like a natural lie detector system incrusted in her eyes and I've never been able to deceive her. She'll know I'm lying and she'll kick my but… oh, but let me tell you, if I go down so will you."

Blowing out a breath, the Chicago Native chuckled. "Am I hearing right, is the great Kofi Kingston afraid of Beth?"

"Hmmm?" The blonde Diva sitting in front of them mumbled and both Kofi and Punk turned their faces to her. She was looking back at them with a drreamy expression in her face and Punk knew by just looking at her that she only changed her attention to them because she heard them say her name.

"It was him, I swear." Kofi hurried to say while lifting his hands up in the air; this time Punk was the one elbowing him. "I think I'll go use the bathroom for a while." With that said the African wrestler got to his feet and fled the scene.

"It's the shrimp, it always make him a little lose on the stomach." Punk said after clicking his tongue to his cheek. Then he smiled broadly and shrugged.

"He wasn't eating shrimp." Cody pointed out as a matter of fact and Punk arched an eyebrow, his eyes fixing on those of the younger man.

Clever boy… he had to give it to him; he got him there. And there he was thinking that the lost geeky spice boy only had eyes for Beth and not for what he and Kofi were eating or doing. Not that he blamed him as the blonde Diva was looking especially pretty that night; but anyway, that wasn't the point, the point was that Punk didn't like at all the way the younger man was looking at him.

Was he trying to make him look bad? Was he seeing him as a threat? Because if that was the case then he was right; Punk was a real threat and the young wrestler had to go through him if he intended to walk out of that restaurant with Beth.

"Yeah, and?"

Lowering his eyes, Cody smiled a clandestine smile while running a finger through his temples. Punk grinned, the younger man definitely seemed uncomfortable with his presence and he wondered if he would man up and tell him to get off his ass and leave him and Beth alone on their fiasco of a date.

Somehow he didn't think so. This Runnels kid didn't seem too forward and he wondered what would it take to push his buttons and make him leave.

"So Cody-" Punk said as he rested his elbows on top of the table. "How come I didn't know you liked Beth enough to ask her out in a date?"

"Phil-" Beth said in a warning tone that Punk chose to ignore.

Smiling, Cody put a hand over Beth's and focused his eyes on her and on her only. "It's okay." With that said, the younger man tilted his head to the side and with the smile still on his lips he looked at Punk. "Well… Phil," He began to say but before he could go on Punk interrupted him.

"Don't call me Phil,"

At that Cody blinked a couple of times and then snorted. "I… I didn't know that to get to her I would have to go to you first so that's why you didn't know. I wasn't aware that you acted as her guardian, Mr. Chaperone."

"Oh that's funny… Mr. Chaperone, very funny. Well I'm not her chaperone, little boy; I'm her friend and as her friend I'm always on the lookout so guys like you won't come trying to take advantage of her good nature."

"Phil, that's enough."

"I'm not here to take advantage of her, I respect her and if you care about her as much as you say you do, you wouldn't be here ruining what was supposed to be a nice relaxing time for her."

"Oh I'm ruining her night? Pardon me, but I thought I was saving her for a night full of boredom."

"Guys-" Beth warned once again.

"She's not bored."

"Of course she is. In fact she is so bored with your geekiness that she let us sit here with you, and on your date night none the less."

"That's enough!" Beth said out loud as she slammed her hand on top of the table and both men looked at her at once.

Upon fixing his eyes on her, Punk realized that she was really mad this time and that he wasn't going to get on her good side anytime soon. Nope, not at all, she definitely had the pissed off look on her; her cheeks were even tinged with red with the force of her anger and her eyes were shooting daggers everywhere she looked.

Watching her like that made him want to knock Cody's teeth out of his mouth for making him make Beth mad…

"I'm sorry." Cody said and to his credit he really looked sorry. "I wasn't… it was not my place to follow him on his games and I'm really sorry. I don't want to cause more trouble so I think I better go… I'll talk to you later, okay?" Cody said, got up from his chair to kiss Beth on the cheek and then turned his back on them to go away.

Was that it? Did he really make Cody go away in less than half an hour since he sat there? That was like a personal record to him and he couldn't help but to flash a big confident grin as he watched the other man go.

That was a KO and what was better, he didn't even have to break a sweat!

"Was that what you wanted?" Beth asked through clenched teeth and her tone made Punk go back to reality.

Sure, maybe Cody was gone and that was a personal victory to him, but Beth was still there and when Beth was mad she was _really_ mad.

But even though he knew how mad she could get and using the frankness that characterized him, Punk shrugged and arched an eyebrow. "Well I'm not upset to see him go."

"You are impossible." She said before getting up to her feet. Once up, she turned on her heels and walked out on him.

"This is fucking great." Punk mumbled under his breath. Making Beth mad was not exactly what he has been looking out to do so not wanting her to go away like that, he quickly stood up and followed her, catching up to her when she was near the bathrooms. "Beth, wait…"

Because she didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, Punk reached for her and grabbed her upper arm to make her stop. That seemed to work, and even though she didn't turn around to face him, the Chicago native was content that at least she wasn't trying to walk away.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted you to stop?" He said, knowing full well that she wasn't talking about him following her and then grabbing her arm so she wouldn't go away. "Look,"

"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about Cody. You promised that you were not going to sit there and ruin my night and that's exactly what you did." She said reproachfully, and even though her back was to him, Punk could see the way her shoulders tensed when she spoke. "You promised and I believed you."

Scratching his head, Punk bit his tongue so he wouldn't say that he only promised not to make fun of Cody, not that he wasn't going to make him go away. "Okay… maybe I lied a little; but Beth… Cody is no good for you; you are too good for him…"

Turning around to look at him face to face, Beth crossed her arms to her chest and pursed her lips. While standing right in front of him, her eyes delved deep into his and Punk was unable to look away. "If you don't want me to go out with anyone then maybe you should ask me out yourself."

Upon hearing her words, Punk almost choked on air and he was sure that he did a double take. "What… why would…? That's not…" For the first time in ages, Punk found himself out of words as he honestly didn't know what to say. He just didn't know what she meant by that…

Was it that she want him to ask her out, was that what she said? To him it definitely sounded like that but he couldn't say; as a rule when women said something they meant an entirely different thing and he was no expert on deciphering their dialect.

But Beth was no ordinary woman so who knew… maybe she was indeed letting him know that she wanted him to ask her out.

At his lack of words, Beth nodded, her eyes still on his as he returned the eye-lock with a confused stare. For a while that was all they did, look at each other, green on blue as the world moved on around them. But then she turned around and began to walk away once again.

What happened next was really confusing and he watched it happen as if he was someone else. He walked to her once again and in the same manner than before he grabbed her by the arm. The only difference was that he made her turn to him this time and once he had her face to him he leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers.

It was really like an out of body experience and if it wasn't because he could feel the softness of her lips glued to his and the silky texture of her hair underneath the hand that was holding her to him, he would definitely think that he was imagining it.

So yeah it felt surreal, especially when he nudged at her bottom lip with his teeth and she allowed him to slide his tongue right in so he could touch it to hers. The contact was brief, a little swirl that allowed him to taste her sweetness like never before.

But then, just when he was getting into the moment, he felt a pair of hands settle on his chest and the next thing he knew Beth was pushing him away. That took him by surprise, but the real shock of the evening came when Beth slapped him right across the face.

"Don't you ever do that again." She hissed through clenched teeth and before Punk could even say ouch, she was gone.

The tall tattooed WWE wrestler remained where he was, feeling his check tingling and a weird sensation forming at the pit of his stomach. "What the fuck was that?" He asked to no one in particular…

As he stood there, he heard someone clearing his throat and without watching he knew it was Kofi. "I think I better go with her… you know, I'll just… go."

Punk nodded, his eyes focused straight ahead while licking his lips. Kofi walked by his side and disappeared after Beth, he watched him out of the corner of his eye and once he was gone the Straight Edge Superstar lowered his eyes and took a deep breath.

He wasn't sure, but for some reason he was almost a hundred percent positive that he screwed up, and this time he didn't know how to fix it…

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Big thanks to xPunkifiedx, Mrs. Barret, KayBugs50143, EmilieCW-DXfan0119, Claire O'mack and alliedoll for the reviews in last chapter, you guys are great ;)

**ChaPtEr 4**

"Man, that was brutal." Kofi said in an amused chuckle while Phil sat down in the middle of his locker room floor, his legs crossed underneath him and his olive green colored irises settled far into a distant wall. "I mean it was like BOOM, one moment you are kissing her and next thing you know she is slapping the taste out of your mouth. I bet you weren't expecting that."

"Can we just not talk about that? Thank you." Phil replied through clenched teeth as the memory of his last encounter with Beth invaded his mind… again.

"No way! I have material here to talk for a lifetime and trust me, Punk, I'm not going to let you live without reminding you about it every day of my life. Kissy-kissy-Boom!"

Tilting his head slowly to the side, Phil stared at Kofi through half closed eyes and tensed his jaw. Right in that moment, his so called friend was in his list of people he wanted to punch in the face and he wondered what would happen if he did it right there…

Not that he was going to, mind you; but in his mind he could imagine it and the feeling was so sweet. His fist connecting to his nose, blood sprouting all over the place and he getting all wild while yelling, _I bet you didn't expect that, uh? Uh?_

If only…

"But you really want to know what's funnier? That I was right since the beginning and that all that elaborate plan of following Beth around and then ruining her date was because you were jealous; just like I said you were."

"Don't be ridiculous. I wasn't jealous-" Phil began to say but Kofi lifted a hand in the air and cut him off with a gesture.

"Yes you were. Man, if it wasn't because you got jealous you wouldn't have even step over the line and kiss Beth." Kofi said knowingly, his lips curving into a smile as he stared down to Phil.

Snorting and shrugging, Phil shook his head. "I am not jealous, trust me. Let alone because of Cody fucking Runnels."

"No? They why were you so adamant that Cody should leave her alone and most importantly, why did you kiss her?"

"Because…" Puffing out a breath, the man known throughout the wrestling world as CM Punk shrugged once again and kept his answer in hold.

He didn't know why he kissed Beth; three days after the incident he has tried to come up with a reasonable explanation to justify that little moment of insanity and every time he would think about it, he has come out blank.

Sure, he could say that he did it in a moment of desperation where he wanted to prevent her from slipping through his fingers so she could go after Runnels; but if he would accept that, he would also have to accept that he was jealous and that maybe, just maybe his interest in Beth went beyond a very platonic friendship.

Thing that was not true; of course. Hell, they were not even platonic. They were just friends, friends in the same way that he was friends with Kofi… the only difference was that he has never nursed the idea of kissing his former tag team partner while he went ahead of himself and did it with Beth.

"You know what? I long ago swore to myself that I would never mind your business but I just have to say this, man. With such a brilliant mind that you have, sometimes you are really dumb."

Snorting at the incongruence of that statement, Punk arched an eyebrow and kept listening. It was weird, but from acting all funny a minute ago, Kofi was now looking kind of serious and the change in him made him be very interested in what he was going to say.

"Do you know that backin that night I had to go after Beth and take her back to the hotel because one, her date walked away on her because of you and two, because she was too upset to go on her own?"

"I'm going to apologize." He said in a low tone, almost as if he wanted to defend himself and maybe he was trying to do that. He knew he has been an ass and he wanted to apologize to Beth about everything.

He was just postponing the encounter because he knew it was going to be awkward and because as a rule, he hated to apologize.

"It's not about apologizing, Phil; it's about you being blind about everything that surrounds you if it's not a ring. Why do you think Beth was upset?"

"Well duh, because of the whole Cody thing…" Oh, she was probably upset about the kiss because like Kofi said, he just stepped over the line with her.

"Wrong; she was upset because you kissed her without even meaning it. Damn it Punk, you really need to pull your head out of your ass. Beth likes you, I think everyone but you knows about this. She likes you, but because you 'supposedly' have no interest in her she remains the loyal friend that asks nothing in return while you take everything she has."

Being caught by surprise by those words, Phil blinked a couple of times and tried to register in his mind all the information Kofi was feeding him.

Beth liked him? He has never even thought about the possibility of that. Fuck, even in the last three days when he has been thinking about the kiss he has never played with the idea that she actually liked him in other way that wasn't purely friendly. After all she has never said or acted in a way that he would make him feel otherwise and yeah, in that one and only time that he kissed her she slapped him and told him never to do that again.

Sure, for a moment she has kissed him back… but it has been just for a little while before getting back to her senses.

"So I don't know, take that blindfold of your eyes and think very well on what you say to her next time you see her." With that said, Kofi gave him one last glance and then turned around to leave Phil's locker room.

Once he was back alone, Phil chewed on his lower lip, sucking his ring into his mouth and musing about what Kofi told him.

Beth liked him…

In some weird kind of way the notion that Kofi may be right made him smile and he thought about all the time they had been spending together. She was his favorite gym partner, his favorite movie companion and as of lately he would even go as far as saying that she was his favorite person to have around.

Maybe that was why he reacted so badly when she told him that she wanted to go out in a date with Cody, because deep inside he knew that if she started to date around, she wasn't going to spend much time with him and being the egoistical jerk that he was, he wanted to prevent that.

That didn't necessarily meant that he liked her too… it just meant that he was a prick.

Lowering his head in unusual shame for a few seconds because he has never meant to act like that with Beth of all people, Phil breathed in and after thinking about it briefly, he decided to get his ass moving so he could go to her and apologize for what he did once and for all.

So, with that thought in mind, the Straight Edge superstar got to his feet, walked out the door and headed directly to the place he knew he could find her, the Divas locker room.

Once standing in front of the door, he pulled his cap as far as it would go down his face, lifted a hand and knocked. Waiting and waiting until the door was opened at last.

But instead of getting the woman he has been hoping to get, the one that opened the door was one of the Bella twins and he quirked his lips in annoyance. "Is Beth here?"

Not even bothering to ask, the twin swirled on her heels and called out. "Beth, it's for you."

After the call has been made, Phil hid his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and waited for his friend to show her face. And she did soon after that, walking to the door with all the calmness that characterized her but without showing him that smile she always had in her lips whenever they would see each after long days apart.

"Hey," He said, feeling a bit unsure of himself while his eyes fixed in her baby blue orbs, watching her as she walked out of the room to rest her back against the wall.

"What do you want?" She asked dryly, crossing her arms to her chest and casting her eyes down to the floor.

By her posture, it was obvious in Phil's eyes that she was still mad or upset about the other night and he could honestly say he didn't know how to act.

Especially now that he knew she liked him.

Sure, he could go straight to the point and mumble a very convincing I'm sorry. Who knew, he would have gone for it if it has been the Cody thing only. He would have half apologize and half reproach her that she has gone out with him in the first place, all in a good nature of course and in a way he was sure would make her smile and forgive him.

But the matter that was heavy between them was the kiss and he didn't even know how to approach that one.

Sucking in a breath, the Chicago native looked down to the floor as well and shrugged. "I just wanted to apologize about the other night." He said, lifting his face up and staring directly into her eyes. "I was out of place and I shouldn't have done it."

Beth nodded and bit down on her lips, but she said nothing.

Chuckling and lifting his hand to his face, the tattooed wrestler shrugged. "You know I suck at this apologizing stuff but I'm really, really sorry that I ruined your night and all that."

Arching an eyebrow, the blonde Diva shrugged as well. "Apology accepted." With that said, she tried to move from her spot so she could sneak back into the Diva's locker room.

But Phil knew her too well to know that Beth accepting his apologies in such a dry manner was as fake as a three dollar bill so he grabbed her by the arm and prevented from moving. "I'm not… are you still mad at me?"

Blinking slowly and pursing her lips, Beth sighed in exasperation. "I'm not mad; I just want to go back there so I can get ready for tonight."

"You _are_ mad." He stated the fact as he got a bit closer to her. She didn't have to say that she was angry, he could see it in her smoldering blue eyes and in the way her face was a bit flushed as she stared up at him.

She looked pretty when she was mad and a weird realization hit full force him. He kind of wanted to kiss her one more time and he didn't want her to be mad at him, ever. "Beth…"

"You know, maybe I am still mad at you, Phil. I mean you always-"

"Is it because of the kiss or because of the Cody thing?" Cutting her off, Phil took another step towards her and the blonde actually tried to take a step back only to find that the wall behind her wouldn't let her do it.

"Both. You had no right, Phil, no right."

Nodding, the Chicago native looked down to her. "I know… I've been thinking about it and you are right, I had no right in ruining your night and I shouldn't have kissed you. But you know what?"

He asked as he casually took one his hands off his pockets to place it against the wall behind her.

"I'm also glad that things turned out that way because I didn't want you going out with Cody."

"You are impossible." Chucking in disbelieve, the Buffalo Diva tried to push him away. But Punk stood his ground and remained in place. "Get off my way, Phil; I'm really not in the mood for this."

"No, I mean now that we are here, why can't we be honest with each other? Is it true that you like me?"

Pursing her lips, Beth blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath. She was looking at him in calm, but Punk knew that her mind was running a thousand miles per second and that she was trying to figure out who told him such a thing.

"You answer me that and maybe I'll admit that I did all that because I was jealous."

At his words, Beth licked her lips and tilted her head to the side. "I like you." She said, plain and simple and Punk smiled.

"Well, I was jealous because you were going out with Cody."

Arching an eyebrow, the Glamazon shifted her weight to her left foot and shrugged. Punk took that as his green light to go on and he leaned into to her, getting so close that his lips were brushing against hers.

But before he could do as much as pressing his lips fully against her in a proper kiss, Beth moved her head to the side and placing her hands against his chest, she forced him back a step.

"Don't even think about it, Phil." She said in a warning; but instead of her voice carrying the bitter tone she was been using on him earlier on, he thought he notice a small change in her… maybe even playful.

But before he could ask or think too much about it, she sneaked away from him and walked directly into the divas locker room; leaving him hanging there while the corner of his lips curved into a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**:

**ChaPtEr 5**

With the corner of his lips curving into a satisfied grin that was probably confused with an overdose of smugness by everyone who happened to be looking his way, Phil Brooks walked through the backstage corridors of the arena with his head held up high and his mood almost edging in happiness.

Yeah… maybe he _was_ happy and why wouldn't he be? After all everything in his life seemed to be falling in place and that was a good excuse to be happy. His career was picking up, he got a new bike and after he talked to Beth earlier that night he was sure that not only she liked him, but he was now sure that he liked her too.

Sure, at the beginning it has been a bit weird to admit that but he thought about the whole thing as the show progressed and then culminated and at the end the only thing he couldn't understand was how come he didn't realize it before.

Yeah he always thought she was pretty and all that but the way he was seeing it now it was like this; for the longest time he had this amazing woman at reaching distance that was beautiful, smart and sweet and he just overlooked her.

Crazy but true.

He really didn't get how that happened because the clues were out there for everyone to see; they liked spending time together, they knew each other to a tee and he would rather spend the day with her than with any of his other friends.

He even went as far as to plot with Kofi to ruin her fiasco of a date with the Runnels kid and that should have been his biggest wake-up call.

And that was with them just as friends… now that he couldn't take his mind away from the fact that there could be more between them he wanted the whole dynamic of their relationship to change.

It was the next logical step to take and he wanted to take it.

He was sure that they would be great; after all Beth already knew everything that was bad about him and after all those years she has remained there by him. Through the good and the bad.

Still grinning and shaking his head from side to side, the Straight Edge Superstar thought that yeah, Beth has stuck with him through a lot of his bullshit and that spoke volumes of her good nature.

She was just perfect. She could pack an attitude from time to time but he wouldn't like her any other way.

With that thought in mind, he kept walking forward, his eyes focused only on the path ahead of him and his mind set with the idea that he had to find Beth before she could take off.

He was in no hurry but he didn't want to lose his time either, after all the show ended a little over twenty minutes ago and he didn't want her to leave before he could talk to her face to face.

There were a few things he wanted her to know and he didn't want to wait so he could tell her.

So, with the goal of finding her deep inside his skull, the tattooed wrestler made a left turn that was going to take him near catering. Not that he had to make it all the way there, because just as he walked around the corner he saw her…

In fact, he almost collided against her and at the sudden apparition he smiled. "Hey-". He said as she took a step back.

"Sorry, I didn't see you." Beth breathed out and for a second she smiled too.

"Yeah, I didn't see you either; but it's a good thing I ran into you because I was actually looking for you."

Arching an eyebrow, Beth tilted her head up and looked up to him. "What for?"

Snorting at the awkwardness of this encounter, Phil shook his head as he ran the tips of his fingers over his jaw. There was no need to feel awkward… this was Beth. "Well, I wanted to talk to you so why don't you grab your things and meet me out in the parking lot? Come on, I'll take you out to eat somewhere nice."

At that, Beth wrinkled her nose and puffed out a breath. "Sorry, I have plans for tonight already. Maybe some other night." She said with a shrug and then she attempted to walk by him.

Seeing her intentions and not wanting her to flee, Phil reached for her and grabbed her by the arm, making her turn around so she could face him. "Not so fast-"

"Would you stop doing that?" She said a bit exasperated. "I really hate it when you do that."

Lifting his hand away from her as if her skin was burning him, Punk did a double take. Did Beth just snap at him for touching her? What the fuck? That was definitely not how he envisioned his talk with her turning into but it was alright, he could get everything under control in a matter of nothing.

"Then stop trying to walk out on me. Okay look, I just want to have a good one on one talk with you, that's all; can we do that?"

Pursing her lips and looking down, Beth ran her fingers through her hair and then spoke. "Maybe some other night, I'm going out tonight with Cody."

"What?" Phil asked in a loud growl and Beth lifted her face to him, looking at him dead in the eye with all the intensity of her baby blue orbs. "Why… why would you want to go out with him?"

"He asked me out and I said yes." Beth said as a matter of fact and for a moment Phil just stared at her.

Was she really saying that she was going out on a date with Cody, again? He just didn't get it…

"Okay… then cancel him. I'm taking you out tonight and I won't get a no for an answer." He said angrily while trying his best not to walk away so he could find Cody. He didn't know why but all of a sudden he was feeling like turning his pretty boy face into a black and blue mess.

"I'm _not_ going to cancel him." Beth said stubbornly while folding her arms up to her chest.

"Oh I get it, you are doing this to make me mad, isn't it? Well now that…"

"Phil…" Cutting him off, Beth snorted. "Trust me when I tell you that this has nothing to do with you. Whether you believe it or not, not everything that goes around in this world is because of you and if I'm going out with Cody is because I want to go out with him."

And now she was talking to him like that? What the hell was going on?

Taking in a deep breath that was supposed to make him calm down the sudden rush of adrenaline that was rising within his being, Phil ran both his hands down his face and for a while he just tried to organize his thoughts.

It didn't work. His mood had soured since Beth dropped the Cody bomb and he knew he was going to screw things up by opening his mouth. He just knew it.

"You know what? Fuck it; just tell me why the fucking fuck would you want to go out with him after you just told me that you like me, uh? Explain that one to me because I just don't get it."

Dropping her hands to her sides, Beth closed her eyes and tilted her head up. "Ugh, Phil… let's not do this now, really."

"No, I want to do it now." He hissed, looking down on her as he bit into his mouth the ring that adorned his bottom lip. "So do you like Cody too?" He asked bitterly and really, he wasn't sure why he was feeling so bitter with her.

But it was just than less than two hours before she fucking told him that she liked him and there she was now, planning to go out on a second date with Frodo.

Opening her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Beth pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue and looked deep into his eyes. "Not that this is any of your business but yes, I like Cody; he's a nice guy."

"I see… I see; so do you like him more than you like me?"

"It's not the same, Phil." She replied back, matching the same annoyed tone her friend was using on her.

"Why not?" He asked dryly because he really wanted to know what he was lacking. "What does he have that you rather go out with him than with me? Is it the lisp, the stupid gimmick or is it that I'm not geeky enough for you?"

Rolling her eyes, Beth snarled her lips and by that simple act, Phil knew she wasn't in the best of moods. "Oh don't start with the geek thing because we both know that you are the last one that can talk about it; but okay, since you want to know I'm going to tell you what he has that you don't. First he doesn't see me as his best buddy but as a woman… because I don't know if you have noticed but I am a woman and I like to be treated like such; secondly, he notices me in ways…"

"I notice you." Phil said, taking a step towards her, his tone low and dark.

"As a friend, Phil, but nothing more; and maybe you think you do but we both now that's not real. You just think you like me now because deep inside you are afraid that I'll run away with Cody and leave you behind but that will disappear if Cody goes away. After that we will go back to normal and you won't even understand what got into you."

"That's not the way it is at all so don't tell me how I feel; I'm the only one that knows how I feel and trust me, I like you. Yeah I'm slow and it took me forever and a day to realize it but the fact remains that I like you and you like me."

Shaking her head and closing her eyes again, Beth snorted. "You took forever and I day and I waited that long for something that never came; but I moved on, Phil… I learnt to live with it and you should let me keep moving. I want to take this opportunity with Cody and if you want to keep this friendship alive you will let me go out there and be happy for me."

After saying that, the blonde WWE Diva opened her eyes and Phil shook his head. "I can't do that."

"Then we can't be friends."

Snorting in disbelief, Phil did his second double take of the night. "You can't be serious about that…"

Shrugging and her eyes lowering down to the floor, Beth turned around and started to walk away. For a second he almost reached for her but letting his hand drop to his side, he just watched her go…

TBC

Okay so this changed pace in this chapter but I was just trying to build up something for the next and probably last update. I hope you still like it though ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews in last chapter, I really appreciate them ;)

**OPEN YOUR EYES**

For the last hour and forty-two minutes of his life, Phil Brooks has been trying to formulate in his mind a hell of a plan that would make Beth open her eyes and forget all about that stupid idea of giving Cody stupid Runnels the chance that by all rights belonged to him.

It was like this, as he sat in a dark corner of the room, he was in a visionary mission and his mind was swirling, scheming and just trying to come up with something… anything that would work in his complete advantage and against that other man that was standing between him and his longtime friend.

So far he has come up with pretty good ideas and they ranged from the most ridiculous to the plain macabre... like the one where he would walk into whatever restaurant they were at the moment so he could throw sulfuric acid all over the kid's face.

That one right there was just ridiculous because really, where could he buy sulfuric acid in such a short notice? Besides, that plan could backfire because some of the acid could splash on Beth and he didn't want that; no… that would only make her even madder at him and that would be awful to his cause.

So no, that one was definitely not going to work. But maybe he could put into motion one of his mo st brilliant ideas of the night and he could pay some random bum in the street to wait for them outside the restaurant and once he spotted them BAM! He would hit Runnels very hard and right in the kisser so there was no chance the pretty boy could end the night with a smooch.

That one right there was actually pretty good because one, no one would ever think he was the one who sent for a homeless person to attack Cody and two, Beth wouldn't want to kiss Cody's bloody lips and in his mind that was very important.

Yeah… he liked that one very much; or maybe he could just kidnap Cody when Beth wasn't looking and thinking that he went missing in action during their date, she would have no choice than turning to him…

Nodding, the corner of his lips curved into a mischievous grin and he ended up chuckling softly while having the distinct feeling that he has turned into a madman.

"Beth… you are killing me here." He mumbled under his breath as he lifted a hand to run three digits along his brows.

It was that… he just didn't get it; why would she want to be with Cody if she liked him? Was it that he wasn't good enough for the oh so mighty Glamazon? Was it that even though she liked him she thought that he would be no good to her?

He just couldn't understand it.

Taking in a deep breath and lowering his eyes to his sneakers, the Straight Edge Superstar blinked his eyes slowly and as if in cue, the door began to open.

At the sound his olive green colored orbs immediately shoot up and he watched through very perceptive eyes the way she walked in with a soft smile on her lips, but alone, before closing the door and turning on the lights.

For a few seconds, the sudden brightness of the bulb shining from the ceiling blinded him and he had to close his eyes until the discomfort faded away.

"Jesus, Phil, what are you doing here?" She asked in a surprised gasp and even with his eyes closed, he could picture the way she halted in her tracks and delicately pressed the palm of her hand to her chest at the sight of him sitting on the floor of her hotel room, resting his back against the bathroom door and waiting for her.

"Thinking…" He replied, opening his eyes to find her standing near the bed while she disapprovingly stared him down.

"Then go and think somewhere else, it's late already and I want to call it a night." She said curtly, the smile that has been gracing her lips when she walked in long ago faded so a snarl could take over.

"Aren't you going to tell me about your _date_? Was it good?" He asked through clenched teeth and just to think about whatever could have happened between those two made his blood boil as it ran through his veins.

"Phil… don't start with that and just go; I wouldn't want to call security on you."

Not minding her words or this new nasty behavior she had whenever she was talking to him as of late, Phil tilted his head up and fixing his eyes in her baby blues, he decided to do what every man would do in his situation, lie and wait for his opportunity to strike.

"You don't have to do that… I just wanted to talk to you before the night was over because ever since our last conversation I couldn't stop thinking about what you said; you know, the part where we couldn't be friends." Taking a moment to puff out a breath, he shrugged and went on. "So I've been thinking about that and you were right… I was being an ass and if what you want is for me to step aside so you and Cody could try things out then I'll do that…"

Arching an eyebrow and her features softening a bit, Beth crossed her arms to her chest and licked her lips. "Really?"

"Yup," Punk said getting to his feet and stretching. "I mean I got the message clear, either I support you as a friend in this or there's nothing, and believe it or not I care a lot about our friendship and I don't want something like this to ruin it."

Blinking slowly and pursing her lips, Beth looked up, watching with something close to distrust as Phil walked closer to her.

"So are we good? Can we go back at being friends?" He asked, extending his arms and smiling his best smile.

"Yeah, I guess." She said with a shrug and then her lips cracked with the faint promise of a smile.

Fuck yeah, he almost had her where he wanted so he kept on with it while thinking that Cody better start looking for another woman to enamor because this one was as good as his. If not, he was not going to rest until she was…

"Rad, now come here." With that said, he walked closer to her and she dropped her arms from her chest so she could give into the embrace he was offering. He did his part too, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her close enough so she could rest her cheek to his chest. "One thing though…"

"What?" She said against his chest and Punk breathed into her soft scent.

He liked having her like that and knowing that in some way she must like it too, he pressed his lips into her soft hair and kissed the crown of her head. "I don't like Cody so please don't ask me to try and befriend him."

Snorting as her hands slid a bit further up his back, Beth replied. "You are impossible, Phil."

"I know…" He said, his hand moving up to her face so he could tilt her head up. "There's another thing too."

"Hmm," She hummed, her eyes shining into his and her eyebrow arching up.

Right in that moment, Phil was very aware that he could just lean forward and kiss her; he was just an inch away from her lips and there was something in her eyes that was telling him that she wouldn't mind, that even though she wanted to ignore it, he was the one she really wanted to be with and Cody was nothing but a second best.

"It's more of a question." He whispered, his hand moving from her chin to the back of her head and his fingers burying into her hair as he drank on the lovely sight that were her eyes up close and personal. "Do you think this is really fair for Cody? I mean now I know that you like me and you know that I like you; so with the cards turned up over the table, do you really thing this is going to stay purely platonic for long? Think about that…" With that said, he took a step back and when he was about to begin his journey to the door Beth grunted in frustration.

"See, I knew I couldn't trust you! What about all that talk about caring about this friendship and supporting me in this?"

"I lied, ok! I fucking lied!" Punk yelled, raising his hand up in the air. "I mean do you really expect me to sit and smile while I watch you live a farce of a romance with him just because you are afraid of opening your eyes and realize that the thing you supposedly wanted the most about me is right in front of you so you just have to grab it?"

"I'm not afraid of anything, Punk." She said in a hiss and at her use of that name instead of Phil, the tattooed wrestler knew he was losing some ground.

He needed to recuperate it.

"Then what is it?" He asked almost in a tender whisper as he took a step that would take him closer to her. "Beth… I've been thinking and thinking about this and I just can't understand why you want to push me away. I'm really lost here so just tell me what is it."

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Beth sighed. Phil took the opportunity to walk even closer and lower his head so he could kiss her.

It was a feather-like kiss that she didn't protest; a meek brush of his lips against her soft ones that lasted less than three seconds before he pulled away.

"Just tell me." He mumbled, grabbing her face in his hands as he waited for a response.

"This is not what you want." She responded, opening her eyes to him.

"Of course it is; I wouldn't be here going out of my mind if it wasn't." With that said, he helped himself to another kiss; he didn't push it though, much like the first one he just brushed their lips together until he gradually started to put a bit more pressure.

For a few seconds he just waited for her to pull away and kick him out, but when she didn't he slowly parted his lips and with his teeth he lightly pulled at her bottom lip into his mouth

That's how his kiss started to evolve, his tongue running teasingly across her lips, his teeth tugging at her and finally pushing pass her lips with his tongue so he could kiss her like it was meant to be.

And Beth… Beth soon gave into the moment and she even tilted her face to the side to give more access to Phil, and when his tongue touched hers so they could melt together, she began to kiss him back.

Congratulating himself for making Beth kiss him like she was kissing him in that moment, Phil slid his hands to her waist and pulled her closer, their kiss going long and deep as the world moved in slow motion around them…

But then she did pull away and looking a bit flushed, she blinked her eyes open. She looked lovely like that, cheeks tinged a rosy-red, eyes sparkling and lips moistened. "Phil… we can't…"

"Shhh," He hushed her, his hands still holding her so close that their bodies were pressing together and his eyes delving deep into hers. "Don't think right now…"

After saying that, he searched for her lips again and right in the middle of her hotel room, he kissed her one more time…


	7. Chapter 7

Beth, Beth, Beth…

Yeah… it was ridiculous to a certain point, but as the Chicago native popularly known as CM Punk angled his face to the right so he could continue kissing the blonde in his arms with everything that he had, he couldn't help but to try and make sense out of the fact that he has known this amazing woman for so many years and that never, at least not before Cody, had he played with the idea that they could be something more than very good friends.

Sure, he wasn't going to lie about it and he had to admit that in some occasions he has checked her out in ways that were not strictly chaste; but that was what men did, they observed and appreciated the beauty that surrounded them and well, since Beth was always around he has appreciated her… once or twice.

But he never thought too much about those clandestine glances he would steal her from time to time because really, there was nothing to think about them.

He just thought that she was very pretty woman and he liked spending time with her. That was it; nothing more, nothing less.

So no, not even once did he feel the inclination of kissing her, he never wondered how she would act in the brims of her passion and he never cared to imagine how soft and inviting her lips could feel against his own…

He never thought about those things because this was Beth after all, his friend and companion and yup, even though it would pain him to admit it out loud, before Cody he basically saw her as this 'asexual' being that happened to look really good in anything that would show cleavage.

But like he said, that has been before Cody came along and now things have changed.

For some reason that he still couldn't comprehend, the mere thought of Beth and Cody together has triggered something inside of him and now he was seeing her in a whole new light; it was as if a possessive side of his woke up and thus the reason why he acted the way he did.

He got jealous, he got stupid and he kissed her. But it wasn't like he was acting like one of those farmer dogs; you know, the ones that kept predators from messing with the crops but that wouldn't eat them either, no… it wasn't like that at all.

He saw it more like this; he was blinded, he hadn't been able to see what he had in front of him and Cody came to take off his blindfold so he could see Beth for what she really was, a beautiful, smart woman that has been there, at reaching distant all along.

Since that first kiss he started to see her more as the woman that she was and not like the friend she has always been and no, this woman was anything but asexual.

All of a sudden he started to notice that besides a nice cleavage she had a breathtaking smile, eyes of liquid blue that sparkled whenever she looked at him and that even though she was a bit on the shy side, she had a strong aura that has always called to him.

Her voice always put him in a good mood, he admired her strong will and the hard work she would put into getting better and why the hell no? It didn't hurt that she had a nice body.

And not only that, but kissing her and having her kiss him back felt ridiculously good and he just couldn't get enough of it.

So, wanting to make the best out of the situation, the veteran wrestler lowered his hands from her waist to her hips and then, little by little, he started to descend down towards her ass…

But that was as far as he got because as soon as his restless hands got where they wanted to get, Beth pulled away from him and staring severely straight into his own eyes, she pursed her lips and folded her arms to her chest defensively.

"What do you think you are you doing?" She said, her voice coming off as a little breathless but reproachful.

Immediately brining his hands to himself and away from her, Phil cleared his throat and licked his lips. He could still taste the sweetness of her kiss lingering in his tongue and by the way her cheeks were flushed, he was sure that their kiss was still in her mind too.

"Well, I… I was kissing you?"

Dropping her hands to her sides and rolling her eyes, Beth sighed out loud and then shook her head. "I know what you were doing, what I meant is why you are all of a sudden feeling like kissing me and getting touchy friendly with me?"

Feeling content despite the fact that Beth's mood was apparently getting sour, the Straight Edge Superstar clicked his tongue to his cheek and then breathed out.

"I don't know okay; and I won't get poetical or cheesy here because you know I'm not like that. But Beth… you can't deny that there's something here brewing between us; I felt it the first time I kissed you and I felt it now."

Walking a step closer and taking special notice that Beth remained where she was standing while her eyes locked with his, Punk allowed his hand to settle back on her waist and he pulled her a bit near towards him.

"Come on Beth, you admitted that you like me, I told you that I like you so what's the problem? Isn't this the next logical step?"

"No it is not and you know it. Phil…" She started to say as she ran her fingers through her hair. To the WWE wrestler she looked a little distress and lost and he knew he had to appeal to her now. "I think you better go."

"Go? I think I better stay here and talk some sense into you. Or better yet, why don't I just kiss you until you begin to see what we have here."

And he was sure that he could convince her and make her forget about her stupid idea of trying things with Cody with his kisses; after all he has felt the way she kissed him, the way her hand went to the back of his head to hold him close and the way she has melted against him while he held her.

So yeah he was sure that she wanted this; and no matter that her mind was unsure, the rest of her body and spirit wanted him. He knew it.

With that in mind and feeling confident, Phil leaned closer and sought for her mouth to kiss; but just when he brushed against her lips with his, Beth moved her head to the side and he ended up kissing her cheek.

"Don't… do that. Look, you are right that I like you and all that, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to fall stupidly at your feet just because you kissed me a few times or because you claim to all of a sudden like me. I don't know for whom you are taking me for but you are very mistaken if you think-"

Quirking his lips and straightening up, Phil looked down to his friend and blinked a few times before interrupting her. "So what are you planning on doing? Keep dating Cody even though the one you like is me? Because if that's it considered yourself warned; I'm not going to let it happen."

Hell no he wasn't!

Grunting, Beth covered her face with her hands and threw her head back. "Jesus Phil, why are you doing this to me?" She asked, her voice a broken whisper that was barely audible to his ear.

But he heard her, and as soon as the words filled his mind he realized that she wasn't acting pissed off now; now she was… okay, he didn't know how she was acting now, he only knew that didn't like the defeated tone she was using when addressing him.

But he needed to keep pressing, she was probably crumbling in her resolution of pushing him away and he needed to be there for the moment.

He needed to open her eyes…

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same… why are _you_ doing this to me? You are pushing me away Beth..."

Allowing Phil to take her hands off her face, Beth opened her eyes and shrugged. "I care a lot about you, you know that… and I don't want to lose you. If I let you drag me into this thing, sooner rather than later you'll realize that this wasn't what you wanted and I wouldn't take that Phil, not from you."

"And what makes you think this is not what I want?"

Shrugging once more, Beth pouted her lips and looked down to the floor. She looked so delicate and lost like that… not that he was going to tell her of course, he knew she wanted people to see her as anything but weak so he just bit on his lips and grabbed her hand in his.

"I'll tell you what; why don't we take this slow then, let's not rush things. We'll keep acting as we always do but with a few little changes. Nothing too drastic, I'm just going to take you out to nice places, I'll let you kiss me whenever you feel like it and most importantly, you will definitely not go into more dates with Cody."

Beth arched an eyebrow and looked at him with a tingle of amusement in her eyes. "That's dating, Phil, not taking things slowly."

Puffing out a breath and then shrugging exaggeratedly, he chuckled. "Then let's date."

At that she arched an eyebrow and cleared her throat. "Wow, I don't know; this is kind of weird." She replied, her lips curving slightly into a smile. "I mean think about it; we know each other too well so you know… it will _be_ weird."

"It's not going to be weird, I promise. It's going to be as always, just you and me… only that you will have the amazing benefit of kissing me all the times that you want to. So tell me, yes or yes?"

Pulling her hand away from his, Beth turned on her heels and walked to the door. "Alright, how about this; we are going to taste the water for some time and see how it goes; if it gets weird or if you realize we were better of as friends, you will tell me and then we go back to the way things were before."

Once that was said, she opened the door and turned around to face him. "Take it or leave it."

"And you'll get to kiss me?"

Snorting, Beth closed her eyes momentarily and then opened them back to look at him. She didn't respond though and he smiled.

"What? It's a fair question…"

"Okay, I'll kiss you if I feel like it."

"Rad, so what about now? Do you feel like kissing me?"

"Phil-" She called out in a warning and then she shook her head. "It's getting late, why don't you think about this some more and then decide what you want?"

Ah, for the love of Jebus! Why was Beth so set up into believing he didn't want this? But that was okay, he was going to dance at her own beat and show her that he wasn't acting out of jealousy or wild impulses.

He really wanted to try things with her and he was going to show her how much he wanted that.

"Beth, I already know what I want… but changing the subject here for a second, are you kicking me out?" He asked, pointing at the open door and the way she was holding it for him to get out.

"No, not really. Why?"

"Nothing… I don't know where I got that impression. Must be in my mind." He chuckled with sarcasm while running a hand through his hair, but that was okay too; if she wanted to take things slow then he was going to do just that.

Little people knew that of him, but he could be quite a gentleman… if he wanted to. Smiling, he tilted his head to the side and walked to her. Once he was near, he leaned into her and kissed the corner of her lips. He lingered there for a while, wanting to aim for her lips but deciding to leave that for later.

"See you tomorrow then." He whispered and pulling away, he gave her one last glance.

When he backed off, he saw that she was biting on her lips and her eyes were shining into his, but after flashing her way a confident grin, he nodded his head and then he started to walk out of the room.

If Beth wanted to make sure that he was the guy for her and vice versa, she was going to find out very soon; and when she did, he was sure that things were going to be more than amazing.

He was already looking forward to see how their relationship progress.

With that thought in mind, he walked with all the calm in the world down the corridor, making a mental score in his mind. Punk: 2, Cody: 0.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so I needed to end this story on a good note and this is the only way I could do it. Hope you like and thanks for sticking to the very end.

**Open Your Eyes**

"Phil, stop it-"

The request has been made in such a low whisper that the Chicago native barely registered it in his brain. Okay, okay… the words and their meaning did register in, but because he was basically doing nothing at all he just let everything enter through his right ear and escape through his left.

Besides, if she really wanted him to stop, she would use more conviction in her tone.

"You know what I would like right now?" He asked instead, his tone low and raspy as his lips brushed against the soft skin of her cheek in a feather-light kiss.

To that Beth said nothing, so taking her lack of response as his green light to proceed, Phil slid his lips down the line of her jaw. His goal? Reaching that sweet hollow spot between her neck and collar bone…

He knew from a previous experience that she liked that spot to be treated so he was going to treat it real good.

Sighing and moving her face away from his insistent lips, Beth stopped staring at the TV for a second and looked at him through half closed lids.

Her look said it all, she was sending him a warning.

"What?" Phil asked innocently and when she went back to paying attention to the movie, he shook his head and blew out a breath.

Now, the woman at his side was usually a bit more receptive to his kisses than what she was being in that moment. But that night, as he lay on his stomach looking at her, he couldn't help but to conclude that it was turning to be extremely difficult to tear out of her even the sightless of responses.

She would brush his hand away if he dared to touch her, she hadn't let him kiss her in the many occasions he has tried and every time he leaned into her to talk into her ear she would quietly tell him to shut up.

It was frustrating; he was the type of man that lacked the gift of patience and that night was turning to be quite a challenge to him.

Of course, he was a hundred percent sure that Beth was acting particularly difficult because of Kofi, who happened to be sitting in the floor and right in front of the bed while engulfing into his face another slide of pizza straight from the box; but even when that was the case, the whole thing was just frustrating.

That was the reason why he has been hoping to have a one on one night with Beth, but because it was stupid Cheat Meal day and apparently the ritual couldn't be broken, Kofi and Beth rented a couple of movies out of a Red Box, made plans to order a few pizzas and even dragged Phil to the grocery store to get some sweets.

Usually, the tattooed man enjoyed those nights, but for the last five weeks of his life, his Wednesday nights and yeah, all the other nights of the week had turned out to be nothing more than a big pile of frustration, and that frustration had a name, Beth.

Now don't get him wrong, as each day passed he found himself even more into his blonde friend; he really enjoyed her company, he was ecstatic that they were crawling out of the friend zone and yadda yadda yadda… but it was also true that the woman was killing him.

Since she decided to give them a try, she had let him know that she wanted to take things slow and he has agreed, but her definition of slow was too damn slow and he was honestly feeling like a damn adolescent mother fucker who had a girlfriend that he couldn't touch like he really wanted to.

It was just… it was bad!

Yes she was letting him kiss her, that was true and at first he has content with that, but as the days started to pass by those kisses started to turn needier and every night he was left off craving for more.

It was like this, in the middle of every late night kissing session, she would pull away, smile and either change the subject or say she was going to call it a night.

Take last time for example; after a long day of travel, gym and a lot of tension from his part, they finally made it to the hotel and being the good potential boyfriend that he was, he accompanied Beth to her door.

That was as far as she would let him anyway so that's where they kissed goodnight.

That night the kiss started innocent enough, lips pressed together, a nip here and there, his tongue sliding into her mouth… but then things started to get a bit heated up and well, his fingers got carried away and moved from her waist towards her ribcage and finally to the swell of her chest.

That was actually the first time he went up there and much to his surprise she didn't protest the touch; she just kissed him harder and deeper until he in response pinned her between his body and the door.

It has been nice, it was endearing to know that Beth was also interested in the less platonic part of their attraction and that night she was letting him know not only by letting him touch her, but also by touching him too.

So they kissed, Phil touching her through her shirt and Beth sliding her hands underneath his so she could run her fingers up his spine while one of his legs settled between hers.

So yeah, it has been more than nice, and even when he didn't want to come off as a horny fucker, he has been sure that his moment was finally coming.

Only that it didn't. In the middle of their make-out session, the obnoxious sound of the elevator stopping at the floor echoed all through the corridor and disentangling her frame from him, Beth wished him a good night and then she was gone, leaving him high and dry while staring at her door…

Shaking his head away from that memory, Phil cleared his throat and pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "He's not even looking, come on… just a kiss… a little one."

"Yeah, and then you are going to want another one and then another one and we'll end up freaking him out."

Moving closer to her until his entire side was pressed against her, Phil smirked. "Freak him out how? I'm just asking for a kiss here. Unless you are looking for something more than kissing and I'll tell you right now, I'm game for anything as long as it doesn't involve him."

Rolling her eyes and turning her face to him, Beth gave him a soft kiss on the lips and then she sat on the bed. "I'm going to get something to drink, do you want something?"

Smirking slyly, Punk nodded and pointed at her.

On her part, she just arched an eyebrow and sent him one of her stare downs. "Kofi?"

"No I'm okay."

Turning on her heels, the blonde Diva headed towards the small kitchen of Phil's hotel junior suite with Phil following every movement she did with his eyes.

"Jesus man, when did you turn into such a corny bastard?" Kofi said in a bemused chuckle as he turned around to face his friend. "Kiss me Beth, kiss me, kiss me… oh I think I'm going to puke."

"Fuck you." Flipping him the bird and taking a quick look to make sure Beth wasn't coming yet, Phil got to his knees and did a quick search into the pocket of his cargo pants.

He had two twenties, some spare change and a handful of cherry bubble gum.

"Listen, I'll give you forty dollars if you fake a stomach ache and leave."

"What?" Kofi squealed. "No, no way. As the good friend that I am, I have to look for Beth's virtue and man, I can only see bad intentions in your eyes."

At those words, Phil did a double take and chuckled. "What the fuck man, I thought you were _my_ friend."

Shrugging, Kofi turned around and focused his attention back to the movie. "I am, but I like Beth better. But I don't know, maybe… maybe if you let me borrow indefinitely your G.I. Joes DVDs, I would think about it."

Gasping but noticing that Beth was already making her way back, Punk snarled his lips and then cussed under his breath. "You are a fucking Judas." He hissed through clenched teeth. "But alright, alright… just get out."

Shrugging, Kofi sighed. "I'll think about it."

Opening his mouth to tell him something that wasn't very nice, the Straight Edge Superstar saw Beth sitting in a corner of the bed so he closed it shut. Oh, but he felt like strangling his former tag team partner so he went back to lay on his stomach; that way he could extend his hand and at least smack the back of his head hard.

"What did I miss?" The blonde asked before taking a sip of her orange soda and feeling bitter about how she had more interest in the movie that what she had on him, Phil snarled his lips and sent Kofi a murderous stare.

But before he could retaliate against the other man, Phil saw Kofi doubling over and he waited, maybe it wasn't all lost.

"Ufff, I have to go…" He said simply, jumping to his feet and walking straight to the door.

Beth watched him, her face lifting up so she could take a good look at their mutual friend leaving. "What happened?"

Shrugging and biting down the urge of smiling, Phil took a deep breath. "I don't know; a minute ago he said something about being allergic to anchovies before farting really loud, didn't you hear it?"

Arching an eyebrow, Beth tilted her face in his direction. "That pizza doesn't have anchovies, Phil; what did you tell him?"

"Moi? I didn't… how can you even think I had something to do with it? He was probably feeling embarrassed after farting in my presence and he didn't wasn't to do it in front of you, what do I know? You know he is weird like that."

Pursing her lips and moving her head back to the TV, Beth blinked slowly. "Don't lie to me, I hate when you do that." She said before taking another sip of her soda.

"Okay, so maybe I suggested him to leave us here alone. Not that I had to insist too much, I don't think he liked that movie."

Beth shook her head, finished her soda and then put the can in the floor. "You are impossible."

Sitting up and sliding along the mattress, the Chicago native positioned himself behind her, putting his legs at her sides and one of his arms circling her waist. "Why, can't a man want some time alone with his woman?"

At that Beth chuckled amusedly and turned her head to the side. "Your woman? Oh that's new, Phil… wow."

With her head angled like that, Beth's face was in a perfect position for Phil to kiss, but instead of doing that he pulled her even closer to him and buried his nose into her hair.

"Well, I think it's safe to say we are more than friends and I never liked the term girlfriend once I graduated high school so…"

Throwing her head back, the New Yorker placed her right hand over Phil's arm. "Maybe, but calling someone your woman sounds chauvinistic. The only thing that can top that is if you start dragging me by the hair everywhere we go."

"I'll do it, if that turns you on." Phil said and preventing her from pulling away from him, he held her tighter and then chuckled.

"God, I don't know how I put up with you…"

Before she could go on and call him whatever she wanted to call him, Phil leaned forward and kissed her mouth.

He did it almost tenderly, and when he felt the way she parted her lips for him he pushed his tongue right in so he could touch it to hers.

As always, he was amazed at how quickly he has gotten used to her; to the sweet taste of her kisses, to the way her lips were so pliable to him as well as to her scent.

It just felt so natural being with her and yeah, he couldn't help but want to take things with her a step forward.

Slowly pulling away and ending the kiss by pressing his lips to her chin, Phil blew out a breath and then arched an eyebrow.

"So! It seems like we are alone… in this big bed… all by ourselves and with no one, no one to interrupt us."

Humming and blinking slowly, Beth turned completely around, sitting on her crunches so she could look at Phil eye to eye. "Yup, it seems so."

"So aren't you getting ideas in that pretty head of yours? Because I am…" He said, licking his lips and reaching for her.

Once his arm was around her waist once again, he pulled her close and without wasting another second, he went back to kissing her.

Beth responded at once, resting her hands to his chest, angling her head towards his and parting her lips so he could explore her at will. And Phil did just that, his tongue slowly taking residence inside her mouth and swirling slowly around hers.

They had kissed like that many times before, but they always did by her door, in the car and if no one was looking, she would let him kiss her in the arena. But this was different, in that room they were by themselves and like he said before, with no one to interrupt them from carrying things wherever they wanted to take them.

Feeling motivated by her good response, Phil moved his hands to the back of her head and cradled it into his palms. He held her like that for a few prolonged seconds, his fingers getting lost in her blonde locks as he slowly, so very slowly lowered her frame to the bed.

Once he got her where he wanted her, laying on her back with him hovering dangerously over her, Phil moved his hands down to her hips so that his fingers could play with the edge of her shirt… hinting that if she allowed him, he would sneak in to explore her like he has never done before.

But way before his fingers could touch her skin, Beth ended the kiss and pushed him gently until there was a good distance between them.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice raspy and his eyes shining into hers.

Clearing her throat and sneaking away from his hold, Beth sat down and bit on her lips, her cheeks tinged with a bit of red and her eyes sparkling a shade darker. "Nothing, I just…" Shrugging and opening her eyes as wide as she could, she blew out a breath.

Sitting as well, Phil took in a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. After doing that he just stared at Beth, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head. By the look in her face, he knew that she wanted to say something, but for some reason she wasn't telling him.

Could it be that she didn't want this?

Sure, a bit over two weeks after they started trying things out he managed to tear the confession out of her that she has basically liked him as something more than a friend since the beginning of their friendship; but realistically speaking, that she has harbored some kind or romantic feelings towards him for more than five years didn't necessarily mean that she wanted to take those feelings into something more physical.

What if she has liked him for so long that now she felt apathetic towards him? Or what if those feelings faded away long ago and now she just didn't want to get into a relationship with him?

After all she has been ready to give Cody a chance and why would she do that if she had feelings for him?

Ah, he was confused.

"I thought you wanted this…" He said, his tone getting lower and maybe, just maybe a bit insecure.

"I do," She said at once, but then she ran a hand across her face and shrugged. "I really do, but I don't know… is this why you wanted Kofi to leave?"

"No… definitely no. Well, maybe." He said twisting his lips into a pout; but then he saw the way she arched her eyebrows at him and he snorted. "Alright, I'm not going to lie, I mean we are both adults here and I've never been one to sugar coat things so here it is; I want to be with you, period. I mean you can't expect me not to; I'm a man so I have this in my chromosomes. Besides we are dating, it's only natural that I want this to happen."

"I want it to happen too."

"Rad, then what are we waiting for?" He asked out loud, ready to start peeling his clothes off if she gave the word.

"Don't you think it will be weird, I mean we've known each other for so long and this is a big step; there will be no turning back from this."

"And who wants to turn back from this? I mean unless you want to go back to sighing dreamily over me and checking me out while my innocent self is unaware of everything."

Opening her mouth and then closing it, Beth lifted a hand and pushed Phil playfully. "I never sighed dreamily over you and-"

"Oh, but you did check me out, didn't you? See, this is the reason I don't like having female friends, all they do is check me out and undress me with their eyes. I thought you were different, Beth."

"I never…" She gasped, shaking her head from side to side. "You know what; I think I'll leave you here all alone now."

"I don't think so." He hissed, grabbing her hand and thus stopping her from getting off the bed.

To that Beth rolled her eyes and quirked her lips, but she made no other attempt to move.

"Come here," He said, pulling her close. Once she was at reaching distance, he tilted his head towards hers and kissed her again. As soon as their lips meet, Beth rested one hand to his chest and the other one went to the back of his head, her fingers getting lost into his dark hair as their tongues danced that sweet dance of exploration.

They went like that for a while, but then he moved his lips to her jaw and started to kiss a path down her throat.

"I don't mind that you had perverted thoughts about me; in fact I like it, and to show you how much I like it I'm going to give you unlimited access to me." He mumbled against her flesh and as soon as the words were out, Beth laughed.

He smiled in return, his tongue darting out so that he could taste the sweetness of her skin.

"Is that so…" She said, her tone sounding to his ears a bit playful and thus very promising.

Humming absentmindedly, Phil nodded. "Yes, you can do to me whatever you want and I won't even try to stop you." After saying that he moved his lips back to hers and shutting whatever reply she could mumble, he slid his hands to her back and ever so slightly, squeezed her against him.

Without letting go of the kiss, he dragged her his way and it wasn't until she was conveniently straddling him that he stopped pulling her so that he could instead place his hands to the back of her jeans.

For a second, he was sure that she was going to push him away and then smack him in the face for touching her there and he was mentally prepared for it; but instead of doing that she just kissed him deeper, her body pressing to him even harder.

That right there made him twitch uncomfortably inside his pants so breaking the kiss, he moved his hands to her shirt and gave it a slight pull.

She didn't stop him, so he tentatively started to pull the offending fabric off until it was out of his way and Beth was sitting over him one step away from being completely topless.

"Is this really what you want? I don't want you to regret this first thing in the morning." She said in whisper as the tip of his fingers started to run up her ribcage.

Snorting, Phil pulled her closer. "Are you kidding me? I thought I proved that this is what I want a long time ago; but in case it hadn't registered in that pretty head let me say it, I want to be with you and no, I won't regret this."

Chewing on her lips, Beth leaned forward and wrapped an arm to his neck. Phil automatically returned the embrace, kissing her shoulder and her closeness making him stir even more…

"I'm sorry… I just don't want you to do this for the wrong reason; you know how I feel about you so if you really want this…"

At that Phil's lips curved into a smirk and he opened his mouth to reply with a fuck yeah; but then he closed his mouth shut, watching as Beth pulled away from their embrace so she could look at him eye to eye.

"So that's it? Aren't you at least trying to enamor me? I'm not so easy Beth."

"Phil, don't start." She said, looking up to the ceiling while her face flushed a rosy red.

Chuckling and achieving the goal of seeing her smile, Phil grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"No regrets then, right?" He asked, getting more serious and wanting to make sure this was what she wanted as well.

"No." She said, reaching forward to kiss him full on the lips.

Closing his eyes and returning the kiss, Phil moved his hands along her naked back, feeling and enjoying the softness of her skin underneath his fingers. Two months ago, he would have laughed if someone told him that he and Beth would end up like that, but now that he was there, he couldn't imagine it otherwise.

Maybe Kofi was right and he was turning soft, but if that was the price to pay to have the woman in his arms kissing him like that, then he didn't mind.

Besides he was able to see now, before he has been blind to see what he had in front of him and because of that he almost lost her to the likes of Mr. Cody Runnels. Thankfully, he opened his eyes in time, he did what he had to do and now he wasn't going to let go of her.

With that in mind, that night Phil claimed Beth all for himself and she did the same with him; they touched each other in places they had never done before, they kissed with a passion hard to control and they gave into one another completely, breaking down those final high bricks that were still holding them back.

That night they gave that ultimate step that finally broke the boundaries of their friendship to give way to something so much deeper, something that neither of them wanted to give up.

TBC


End file.
